According to the Boston Globe, the Pentagon quietly has been pursuing a plan to increase the number of noncitizens it recruits into the armed forces to counter a weak recruiting market and to support a plan to expand the land forces. The obvious lure for foreigners is to gain US citizenship. The Globe reports that “Pentagon officials” are working with Congress on the issue.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.